


All About that (b)Ass

by Lisamc21



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Fingering, Anal Play, Anal Sex, Coming Out, David is happy to help, Dirty Talk, Discussion of Sex Toys, First Kiss, First Time, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Masturbation, Mutual Pining, No Angst, Patrick is working through some feelings, Patrick likes to research, Pre-Relationship, Sex Toys, so much pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 18:49:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30059955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lisamc21/pseuds/Lisamc21
Summary: Patrick is curious about anal stimulation, and Patrick being, well, Patrick, he decides to research and practice to determine what (if anything) he likes before getting anyone else involved. Patrick Brewer likes to be prepared before entering unknown situations.When a little oops (not an oopsie daisy) happens, David learns of Patrick's anal journey and offers to metaphorically help. And then maybe literally...
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 51
Kudos: 261





	All About that (b)Ass

**Author's Note:**

> Finally finishing some WIPs. Yay! This idea started off as another quickie fic about Patrick and boxes (I guess I have [A Thing](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28473366) about that?). 17k+ later... here we are.
> 
> My eternal thanks to:  
> -A gaggle of thirsty pals for encouraging me to edit this  
> -Everyone who tossed alternatives to clenching otherwise this fic would have like 2848 instances of clenching  
> -Each and every person who's put up with me whining/given me hair pats/commiserated with me about my fic writing dry spell the past couple of months.  
> -And to [fortheloveofSchitt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fortheloveofSchitt/pseuds/fortheloveofSchitt) for suggesting "All About that Bass" for the title!

Patrick sat on the couch in Ray’s living room and played a cell phone game while Ray narrated the latest _Dancing with the Stars_ episode. He wasn’t interested in the show, but he paid enough attention so when David talked about it the day after each new episode, Patrick could respond appropriately and troll him when possible. The lengths he went to seem interesting to his business partner would probably sound pathetic to even a lovesick tween with their first crush.

“Patrick, I forgot to tell you earlier. A package came for you. I left it at your old desk.”

Package? Maybe his mom sent him a care package with some of her delicious butterscotch cookies. “Thanks, Ray.” He’d grab it on his way up to his room after the episode. He resumed his game, then froze. Oh. _Oh._ That wasn’t a package from his mom. That’s- it’s- “I’m gonna head up.” Patrick stood quickly and nearly tripped over the coffee table.

“Everything okay?” Ray shifted in his armchair to look over at him.

“Yes. Fine. Just gotta. Going to call a friend.”

Ray smiled. “That’s lovely. I hope you have a wonderful visit with your friend. Goodnight, Patrick.”

“Night, Ray.” He rushed over to the desk he used when he’d worked for Ray and stared at the nondescript box. Thank god he’d ordered from a company that promised to ship items discretely.

He stared at the label. Patrick Brewer. His asshole twitched as he thought about the box full of anal sex toys and lube awaiting him. After the hours he’d spent researching anal sex, various toys, lubes, the best quality materials, and the best online stores to buy from, his bounty had arrived.

Time to play.

Patrick walked up to his room as fast as possible without drawing Ray’s attention. When he got inside, he moved the small wooden desk chair under the door handle so Ray didn’t pop in and get an eyeful. He really needed to ask his roommate (landlord?) about installing a lock on the door.

He dug around in his hiking pack to find his multi-tool, then sliced through the tape sealing the box and lifted a layer of bubble wrap. An assortment of boxes in bright colors were packed well enough to leave a Tetris master jealous. It hadn’t seemed like much in his shopping cart, though it had been a sizable hit to his budget. But seeing all the boxes in front of him? Yeah. He’d started quite the sex toy collection.

Go big or go home, right?

Not too big, though. Not yet. Not until he spent some time exploring to determine whether he even _enjoyed_ the sensation of his ass being stimulated.

Looking at all the boxes, he suddenly felt overwhelmed. A guy with a historically toy-free, vanilla sex life with people he now realized he wasn’t very attracted to suddenly thought he needed an arsenal of anal toys? The belongings he’d taken to Schitt’s Creek when he’d fled his hometown easily fit into his sedan. His new sex toys would take up the entire floorboard on one side. That’s… a lot.

At first glance, it might seem extravagant, but the thing about Patrick was he’s a planner. He knew he wanted to try dating men, or _a_ man. A very specific man who talked with his hands almost as much as his mouth, and who had an opinion about everything no matter how _incorrect_ they might be.

Before Patrick started dating, he wanted some more experience. He’d received blow jobs enough to know what he liked and figured he could get by giving his own. Same with hand jobs. He’d had plenty of penetrative sex where he’d been the giver and had researched enough to understand how penetrating an anus differed from a vagina. He’d planned dates and cuddled and knew how to be romantic.

That left one glaring, gigantic hole in his practical experience. Receiving anal sex. Anal play. Anal _anything_.

When he’d first started letting his mind explore the possibility of identifying as a gay man, he’d started wondering about anal sex. He knew not all men enjoyed it and it certainly wasn’t a requirement to identifying as gay, but with the possibility of exploring that opportunity a lot more likely not, he wanted to know where he landed on the topic. Preferably figure that out on his own without having to embarrass himself around anyone. After sneaking a sample packet of organic lube from the store a while back—because “grocery store lube is for people like Roland, Patrick”—he’d gone as far as getting most of a finger inside of himself.

Patrick was ready for more. He wanted to understand the mechanics, know how to relax, get used to the sensations, and know what he liked before he got anyone else involved. The thought of someone touching his hole and clenching up hard enough to sprain something sounded as sexy as food poisoning. He needed practice.

Patrick was familiar, comfortable. He practiced to get better at the guitar and piano. Lots of practice for his baseball teams. Practice he could do. Patrick was nothing if not prepared. And thorough.

His mind drifted to a fantasy he’d called up repeatedly over the last few weeks. David. Always David. David’s sideways smirk as he watched Patrick beg for it. His long fingers working Patrick open. His powerful hands holding himself up as he fucked into Patrick, slow and deep. Hard and fast. Everything in between. Patrick wiped the back of his hand across his forehead and took a steadying breath. He needed practice just so he didn’t immediately come on the spot as soon as someone touched him.

Dumping the box on his bed, he removed each toy from its packaging. He didn’t let himself stop to study any of them until they were all unpacked. Patrick sat next to the row of toys and picked them up one at a time to study their shapes, feel their weight, the sensation of silicone against his skin. He went to the bathroom to retrieve a clean towel and draped it over the side of his bed he never used. With the special wipes he’d picked up on his last Amazon order, he cleaned each one, then lined them up on the towel to air dry. The next time he was home alone, he’d do a more thorough washing in the bathroom sink.

He glanced at the pile of packaging in the shipping box, and his shoulders tensed. He couldn’t put them in the household recycling. Ray would spot them in an instant and start asking about Patrick’s dating life. Probably offer to set him up with someone. He shuddered. There wasn’t a central recycling depot in Schitt’s Creek like in his hometown. Donning black workout clothes and sneaking to a neighbor’s recycling bin under the cover of darkness was a bit extreme.

The store. David never took out the flattened inventory boxes to their recycling container. He could bring a paper bag full of them tomorrow and drop them in before David got to work. After they unloaded tomorrow’s planned delivery, he’d take the flattened boxes to the back like he always did, and shove them far down into the container to cover his tracks. Easy.

Patrick looked at the toys again and felt a want deep in his belly. As he studied his new selection, his hole clenched and released repeatedly as though begging to be touched. All he needed to do was pick the first toy for his maiden anal voyage. Anything vibrating was out for his first time, as were the larger plugs in the dilation kit. That left the smallest dilation plug, a suction cup dildo, and an anal prober. He studied the purple, silicone anal prober with narrow bead-like bumps on one end, a thick middle, and a bulbous head at the other end with a loop for his finger. Safety first. The bumps looked small enough, no more than the width of his finger. The longer length of it might make it easier to hold than the shorter plugs.

Patrick undressed, grabbed his laptop, and opened the incognito browser window that had his favorite gay porn videos still open across several tabs. Setting the anal probe and a lube bottle on his spare pillow, he settled down on his side. That seemed like the most comfortable position to allow for control.

He hit play on the video he’d found a couple weeks ago and watched an embarrassing amount of times since then. A tall man with dark hair coiffed in a swoop above his head and a sexy patch of chest hair absolutely railing a smaller man. Watching every video he could find of that actor hadn’t helped his ability to rein in his feelings at the store. Especially the times his and David’s flirting grew so taut, he thought he’d snap and let out too much of his genuine feelings, like a kettle letting out steam. But he always held enough back until he got home and alone in his room. He’d jerked off more since meeting David than the rest of his life combined.

Patrick turned the volume up another notch. The dark-haired man stood, back arched, moaning, as the other guy, on his back and sprawled across the bed, swallowed his cock to the hilt. Patrick squirted lube into his palm and stroked himself. He hardened in a flash. By the time the tall guy turned the smaller guy over and began rimming him, Patrick had a lubed finger past his first ring of muscle. He needed more. He pushed a second finger past the first ring of muscle while his other finger went further. With steady, deep breaths, he focused on rocking his hips back and forth onto his fingers until both were as far as he could reach. God, he wished he had _someone’s_ tongue on his ass. _Someone’s_ fingers in his hole at the right angle to get deep.

The dark-haired man slowly pushed his hard cock into the other, and Patrick matched the timing of his thrusts into his ass. He wished he could turn the volume all the way up and let the sound echo off the walls of his room. Bask in the sounds of sex all around. _Fuck_. With slick fingers and a shaky hand, he lubed up the toy and pressed it against his hole. It took barely any pressure to push the first of the nodules inside. He pressed his face against his pillow to muffle his moan as his body practically sucked the toy in to the fourth bulb. Keeping a firm grip, he twisted it around and slightly shifted it in and out, biting his pillow as the silicone slid against him.

As the pace of the fucking on screen picked up, Patrick matched it with the toy. A sweaty chunk of hair fell onto the sexy man’s forehead, and he pulled one of his hands back from the others man’s hip to run it through his hair. Patrick bit his lip and twisted the toy, imagining the times he’d seen David fix his hair after unpacking boxes or deep cleaning the store. The actors moved from doggy style to the bottom on his back, knees pulled against his chest, while the other pistoned his hips at a brutal pace. Patrick wrapped his free hand around his cock and roughly stroked as fast as he could with his body pinning that arm to the bed, trying to match the thrusts in his ass with the strokes on his cock.

“Fuck. _Fuck_ ,” he moaned into his pillow. He was so close. So damn close.

When the dark-haired man tilted his head back and groaned, Patrick came over his fist and pulled out the toy at the peak of his orgasm. He bit his lip nearly hard enough to draw blood to stop from yelling as his body convulsed.

Once his heart rate slowed and toes uncurled, Patrick exhaled a long breath. All right. A thumbs up on the anal toys. Two thumbs up on sexy, dark-haired men.

  
  


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“I’m going to grab lunch. Club sandwich?” Patrick leaned against the doorway to the storeroom and crossed his arms over his chest. His thick forearms looked way too damn good in that abomination of a poly-blend button-up.

David’s brain buffered for a moment as he considered Patrick’s question. After all the daily exposure over the past few months, surely he should have built a resistance to Patrick’s forearms by now. Exposure therapy or something. “Um, yes, please. Thank you.”

One side of Patrick’s mouth quirked up. “You’re welcome. I’ll be back in a few.”

“I’ll cover the floor.” David shamelessly watched Patrick’s ass as he turned and walked away.

After he heard the bell, David picked up the box cutter and flattened the few boxes he’d unpacked over the past hour. He leaned the flattened boxes up against the wall and walked toward the floor, but paused. Patrick always took the boxes and trash out, swept the floor, picked up their lunch more often than David, did the afternoon beverage run most days, dealt with the bank stuff. It wasn’t fair. He’d grown too comfortable with Patrick’s generosity, and the last thing he wanted was Patrick to think David took him for granted. If he had any shot at something more with Patrick, he wanted Patrick to view him as an equal. A partner in every way that mattered. Not just the dramatic artistic one who couldn’t be bothered with rote activities.

David picked up the boxes and walked out to the back of the store. He lifted the lid, and his mouth dropped open when he spotted a white, narrow box with hot pink letters spelling “ANAL PROBER” at the top of a pile in a paper grocery bag. Curiosity got the better of him, so he dropped the flattened boxes onto the ground and peered at the other packaging. Butt plugs, lubes, a prostate massager. Jesus. Someone in town was having one hell of a great time.

He’d used their bin a few times when the motel one was full. Well, and that time he’d splurged on his favorite face cream and dumped it in the empty bottle of a cheaper one, and had taken the box to recycle at the store so Alexis hadn’t seen. She hated the cheaper cream and would keep her grubby little paws away. Other than that, he’d seen no one else use it. Surely it couldn’t be Patrick. He had to have his own at Ray’s house. Maybe someone else in town who didn’t want who they lived with to see the boxes? Though, it’s not like their store’s recycling bin was easily visible to people passing by. Someone would have to know it was there.

David folded up the flattened boxes and shoved them into the container, covering the sex toy packaging, and rushed back into the store in case any customers came in during the short time he’d been gawking outside.

He busied himself by tidying things as he waited for Patrick to return. He took advantage of his few minutes alone to imagine a certain buttoned-up business partner slowly taking himself apart with an army of anal toys. It wasn’t the first time he’d imagined Patrick doing something sexy, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. He squeezed his eyes closed and forced himself to think about polyester pantsuits to cool the heat licking up his spine.

The bell chimed. “Sorry it took a while.” Patrick grimaced. “Roland.”

David quickly glanced at him, then re-focused on fixing the already perfectly displayed shelf. “He’s a menace. Um, thanks for getting lunch.”

Patrick’s steps faltered. “You okay?”

“Mm? Yeah. Yup. Just picking up after the overgrown toddlers in this town.” He didn’t dare look at Patrick. Not yet.

“I’ll put your lunch in the back for when you’re ready.”

“Thanks.” As if his eyes had a mind of their own, he turned and watched Patrick walk into the back room. He’d already spent an absurd amount of time thinking about, sneaking glances at, and blatantly ogling Patrick’s ass. He’d never written poetry, but he was pretty sure he could write at least a few poems about Patrick’s pert bum, perfectly bubbled in his tight jeans. It looked firm and definitely grabbable. A sizable handful.

“Uh, David?”

David turned around at Patrick’s hesitant tone. “Yeah?”

Patrick looked at the floor. “Di- did you take the boxes out back?”

David’s heart leapt in his throat when he saw the pink tinging Patrick’s cheeks. “Um, yes, I did.” He wrung his hands and looked outside. “You always do it, and- And. I thought. I- it was my turn.”

Patrick gripped the edge of the counter and avoided David’s eyes. “Right. Okay. Uh, thanks. For that.”

“Mm. Yup. Sure.” He nodded too much and forced himself to stop before his head bounced right off his body. He could look normal. Casual. Not like he’d seen a paper bag full of sex toy packaging probably put there by his sexy business partner who made spreadsheets sound like foreplay.

“I’m gonna eat real quick.”

David nodded and turned back to his shelf. The minutes passed glacially as he waited for Patrick to finish lunch. Patrick wasn’t a shy and bumbling kind of guy, so the boxes had to be his. Fuck. He hated that his attempt to do his literal job left Patrick feeling uncomfortable. Possibly violated. Fucking fuck! With the world’s most dramatic mother, surely David should have learned some acting skills over the years. But, no. All he’d inherited from his mother was a penchant for overreacting and an incredible sense of style. And an adoration for men who enjoyed boring business things.

He paced around the store in a half-hearted attempt to fix things, but was probably making things worse with his shaking hands. What if Patrick was back there freaking out? Maybe he was dead. Dead of embarrassment. Ugh. David couldn’t do Patrick’s job and his own!

Minutes or hours later, Patrick walked through the doorway. “Your turn.” He avoided David’s eyes again, and his cheeks were still red, but at least he was alive. Thank god David wouldn’t have to figure out how to do their taxes.

“Thanks,” David whispered. He’d nearly lost his appetite, but he wasn’t about to skip lunch and make Patrick feel worse by not eating the meal he’d bought for David. The bread and fries were soggy and bacon limp. Ew. He picked off the cheese and deli meats to eat as he thought about what might be Patrick’s favorite toy in his collection until guilt took the last of his appetite.

A short while later, he rejoined Patrick in the front and jumped in to help a customer milling about. The next hour passed in a blissfully steady stream of customers that helped keep the suffocating awkwardness at bay. Usually when he and Patrick caught each other’s eyes from across the store, they shared small smiles that sent flutters all the way to his toes, but he couldn’t catch Patrick’s eyes no matter how hard he tried.

Once there was a gap between customers, the strained energy settled around them again. Patrick restocked the facial moisturizer bottles and knocked them over with a shaky hand. David rushed over to help pick them up. They reached for the same bottle and their fingers brushed. Patrick sucked in a breath and yanked his hand back, standing up in a flash. “Sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

Patrick looked like he wanted to crawl out of his skin. David hated seeing him that uncomfortable. He collected the remaining bottles and fixed the display while trying to give Patrick space.

“So, when you—” Patrick gave his head a shake and pinched his lips together, a crease forming in his brow. He was extra adorable when he concentrated. “Did. Hmm. Did you?”

Okay. They were doing this. He turned to face Patrick fully and smoothed down his sweater. David could talk about sex. Of all the things they could talk about, that was actually one he felt most prepared to tackle. He could help Patrick feel comfortable.

Patrick released a sharp breath. “You saw the bag, didn’t you?”

“Bag?” David attempted to sound ignorant in case Patrick wanted an out, but judging by Patrick’s sharp look, he failed. Miserably. That summer theater camp for teens hadn’t been worth the money, clearly. “Okay, yes. I did. I didn’t mean to see them. Didn’t want to assume who- that they were- that they were yours.” He grabbed his wrist to stop his hands from moving.

“Who else’s would they be?” Patrick sounded almost snippy.

“Anyone in town.” David turned to face Patrick. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Sex is normal and great and toys are a fantastic addition to solo, or, um, p-partner play.” Fuck. He’d been so focused on imagining Patrick playing with himself, he hadn’t considered Patrick was maybe dating someone and the toys were for _them_.

Patrick bent over and dropped his forearms on the table, head on his arms. That position wasn’t doing David’s libido or imagination any favors. “I didn’t want Ray to see them, so I brought them here. You never take out the boxes.”

“Ouch. I’m not _that_ much of a slacker.”

Patrick peeked up at him with a playful glint in his eyes.

“I completely understand not wanting Ray to see them. But, honestly? I’m not judging you at all. I have a sizable toy collection of my own. It’s healthy.” He shrugged.

Patrick straightened up, but the redness in his cheeks darkened. “You do?”

“Definitely. It’s one thing I brought with me from- from before. I brought my designer clothes and designer sex toys and designer skincare and not much else.”

The stricken expression on Patrick’s face eased up a bit. “I’m impressed by your foresight.”

“I figured I’d need the stress relief.” He waved away Patrick’s smirk. “Anyway. Seriously. I think it’s great you’re enjoying yourself.”

Patrick looked down at his feet. “It’s, uh, new. Um. Butt stuff.”

David’s mouth twitched. “Mm. _Butt stuff_.”

Patrick rolled his eyes. “ _Anal play_. Better?”

Other than David nearly combusting at Patrick’s smart tone combined with those words? Sure. “Much.”

Squaring his shoulders and straightening his spine, Patrick looked David in the eyes. “I’ve developed an interest in experimenting with it lately, so I did some online shopping.”

“Good. That’s good. Very good.” How many times could he say the word good before his brain rebooted?

Patrick’s mouth twitched a little. “Good.”

Fucking troll.

The tension disappeared after that. Sort of. The tension between them cleared, but the tension in David’s pants went downhill faster than a sample sale. He still wasn’t sure of Patrick’s sexual orientation, and being interested in ass play certainly didn’t indicate someone liked men, but it added an exciting additional layer to David’s fantasies about his crush.

  
  


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“Will that be everything?” Patrick tried to keep his attention on the customer he was ringing up instead of David smiling and laughing while helping another customer.

“Oops. I grabbed the wrong scent.” The woman held up a candle.

“I can get the correct one for you. What scent were you looking for?”

“Cedar, please. Thanks.”

He smiled and strode over to the far wall, bending over to grab the one he needed.

“Sorry, I just—” David rested his hand on the small of Patrick’s back and his hip brushed against Patrick’s. “Grabbing a basket up there.”

A quiet whimper escaped before Patrick knew what was happening. David’s fingers tensed, and Patrick could imagine with perfectly clarity what it would feel like to have David grip his hips as he pushed inside. Clutch the hair on the back of his head as he fucked into Patrick’s mouth. Patrick squeezed his glutes. He’d spent the better part of an hour last night on all fours, pushing and pulling the second plug in his dilation kit, twisting it around, driving himself wild as he imagined David behind him. Teasing him with his fingers, his cock, his tongue.

Patrick quickly grabbed the cedar candle and straightened, turning away from David before there was any visible sign of the dirty thoughts in his mind.

After Patrick rang up his customer and David’s, he grabbed the laptop to distract himself with their monthly accounting. The afternoon passed in a mix of flirty glances, cockblocking customers, and horny squirming.

Patrick had never been a horny squirmer. He’d rarely thought about sex outside of the mechanics while in the middle of it or anxiety. So much anxiety. Anxiety over not wanting to do it or whether he’d be able to satisfy Rachel or if she’d be able to tell something was off and they’d end up in one of their million hours-long conversations about their relationship.

Now? David just had to pinch his lips between his teeth and deepen his dimples to send Patrick on a spiral of wanting to lick them. When David wore those acid wash jeans with tears at the knees that looked painted on, Patrick drove himself to distraction, wondering if he could get them off David in under ten seconds. The times David reached up to grab something off the top shelf and his sweaters lifted to show a band of skin? Damn. Patrick wanted to run his hands up David’s stomach and feel the scratch of hair across his chest.

Basically, Patrick felt horny around David all the time.

It wasn’t about looking to get his dick sucked by a gorgeous, convenient mouth. David drove him _wild_. Each night when Patrick tried to fall asleep, he imagined the specific ways he could thoroughly worship David’s body. Licking, kissing, sucking, fucking. And talking after. So much talking and getting to know David. Cuddling and talking until they fell asleep, so he could wake David up by getting him hard in Patrick’s mouth. He wanted to know David inside and out.

He also wanted to know himself inside and out. The whole wanting his ass played with thing was new. It came up once in a while during high school and college. People acting scandalized by rumors of people consenting to anal sex, which, now, he realized was problematic as hell. Kids could be such assholes. Rachel had never wanted to try it, and he was fine with what they did. But they’d gotten together when they were so young. A time when having penetrative sex was A Big Deal, let alone any other form of exploration. They’d settled into a groove of what they knew they liked, and the curiosity never pushed him beyond that. It’s not like the guys on his baseball teams over the years talked about getting pegged and fingered in the locker room. The vague, distant concept of anal sex had been about giving among his straight guy friends. He hadn’t considered receiving, especially when sex had always been so fraught for him. Asking Rachel to finger him when he barely initiated sex in the first place? Yeah, he didn’t want to sit through any deep conversations about that.

Teenage and twenty-something Patrick Brewer had done his best to just make it through. Push his feelings and fears down to make everyone around him happy. Now he realized he’d basically been fueling a volcano for eruption. Thirty-something Patrick Brewer would never let it get that far again. If he was curious about something, he’d explore it. If he wanted something, he’d go after it. If he didn’t want something, he’d say so. Or at least try.

It took a lot to even begin to think about forgiving himself for his teens and twenties. It wasn’t fair to have expected himself to know everything. Most days he felt like he barely knew himself at all, but now he was committed to trying.

Top of that list was understanding his feelings for his business partner and friend. Patrick stood at the counter and felt a thrumming under his skin as David moved around the store. He squeezed his glutes and tried to push down the building desire. Maybe there were other ways to deal with it at work. Marathon masturbation sessions weren’t cutting it. A plug? How long could he safely leave one in? Jesus. He gripped the edge of the counter and took several deep breaths. How had he gone from having his act (mostly) together to considering wearing a plug _at work_?

He’d distract himself by teasing David. Patrick picked up the half-empty juice David had nicked from their fridge and left underneath the counter.

“Um. Is that your juice?”

Patrick bit back a laugh at David’s shrill tone. “No, I think technically it’s _our_ juice since you just took it from the fridge and didn’t pay for it.”

“Mmhmm.” David lowered the blanket he was folding. “It’s just that I don’t normally share beverages with people.”

He had him. “Really? That is shocking news.”

David pinched up his face. “Fortunately, you look like you have a clean mouth.”

“Sorry.” His brain stilled like a record scratch. “A clean mouth?”

David looked at him like he was an idiot. “Yeah. Some people have nice, clean mouths, and some people have sloppy mouths.”

Patrick picked up the bottle and didn’t break David’s eye contact as he took another drink of the citrus green juice.

“Can I have my juice back, please?”

“No. You have a sloppy mouth.” Patrick tilted his head back and chugged the rest of it. When he straightened, he found David staring at him with his mouth ajar. Leaning into the rare advantage, Patrick walked to the bathroom to rinse out the bottle, then took it to the recycling bin out back. He caught David’s reflection in one of their framed pieces on the wall, checking out Patrick’s ass. Come to think of it, he’d noticed David checking out his ass more and more over the past couple of days. Maybe it wasn’t any more than before. Maybe he was simply allowing himself to think about what it might mean.

Patrick walked back toward the front of the store. David stood at the counter with his hands resting casually on the counter. “So.”

Patrick’s steps faltered. He knew that tone, and it usually meant trouble. “So?”

David intertwined his fingers together and straightened his shoulders. “How’s the, um, experimenting going.”

Patrick involuntarily clenched. “It’s- um, good. Very good.” A wave of heat rushed through him as David’s eyes quickly flicked to his pelvis and back up.

David nodded absently. Patrick would give anything to know what was running through his mind in that moment. “You’re using lube, right?”

A laughed tried to escape, but Patrick reined it in. “Yes, David. I did my research.”

David’s mouth twitched as his lips pinched to one side. “Of course you did research.” David looked out the front windows in a terrible attempt at casualness. “You’re not using silicone lube on silicone toys, right?”

“Water-based for toys. Silicone for, uh.” He looked away and tried to ignore the burning at the back of his neck. “Fingers.”

David hummed. “Good. Good.”

“Any other questions about my anal journey, David?”

The dimples on David’s cheeks deepened with his grin. “Oh? It’s a journey, is it?”

“I’d say so.” Patrick crossed his arms over his chest and attempted to force a calm he didn’t feel. Whenever he seemed to have the upper hand, David flashed a smile or asked a question that tilted the balance once again. He loved it.

David looked delighted, and he turned more fully toward Patrick. “I’m terrible when it comes to talking about emotions.” He grimaced as he said the word, like he was admitting to buying box store clothes. “But I’m excellent at talking sex. I have a lot of experience in this so.” David rolled one of his hands in the air. “If you want to talk. Or have questions. Or whatever.”

“Like an anal coach?”

“Absolutely not. I am _not_ a coach. Don’t project your sporty things on me,” he said in an adorably haughty tone as he furiously waved a hand in Patrick’s vicinity.

“Okay, David.” Had he stepped into an alternative universe where he and the man he’d been crushing on for months were talking about butt stuff? Patrick had never been comfortable talking about sex before, but when presented with the opportunity to talk with David about it, he sure as hell wouldn’t turn down the opportunity. The practical part of him appreciated having someone to go to with questions. The bold side he wanted to embrace? Yeah. That part of him wanted to see if he could use it to flirt with David.

David nodded once. “Are you working up to something specific or?”

 _You._ _Your cock. Your fingers. Your tongue._ He couldn’t say that, not yet, so he went with what felt natural. Trolling like his life depended on it. He turned toward the bottles of wine lining the wall and straightened the ones with the labels slightly askew. He picked up a bottle of merlot and eyed it. After a moment, he looked at David and winked.

  
  


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“I’m going to Ted’s tonight,” Alexis said as she packed some toiletries in a bag.

“How thrilling for you.” David sat at the head of his bed and scrolled Instagram while counting down the seconds until she left. Patrick in those tight jeans and his sloppy mouth and earnest eyes had him itching to escape to the love room and his box of toys.

“Rude, David.” She paused in her packing and looked at him, lips pouting and arms T-Rexing. “Going to be okay on your own? All lonely and, like, watching sad movies?” She stuck her bottom lip out.

He looked up and glared at her. “You mean enjoying some blissful silence for once? I’m sure I’ll suffer through.”

“Hmmph.”

She left after twenty agonizing minutes of Alexis fretting over the pajamas she was going to wear like she was packing for a lounge wear photo shoot instead of a night with her adorkable boyfriend. He peeked his head out of their room to make sure no one loitered outside. With the coast clear, he walked down to the room where he kept his off-season clothes and… other things.

Ever since seeing those boxes in the recycling, there’d been an itch he couldn’t scratch with the quick tugs he managed in the shower a couple of times a week. That would only frustrate him more. No, he needed a toy in his ass. He hadn’t used them since moving to Schitt’s Creek, and, well, hadn’t had anal sex since Jake. Patrick and his journey to self-discovery had him more worked up than he’d been in ages.

David pulled out his sex toy box from behind the container of his beachwear and moved it to the bed. He’d packed it so quickly, he couldn’t even remember what he had. As he reacquainted himself with his collection, he found lubes, dildos, vibrators, prostate massagers, nipple clamps, a flogger, whips, cock rings, and so much more. Fuck. He really needed to get laid. No. He really needed _Patrick_ to fuck him. No one else could scratch that incessant itch that began every day when he woke up and his mind immediately wandered to Patrick, all the way through to the end of the day when he fell asleep thinking about seeing Patrick again tomorrow. He’d give his entire toy collection away if it meant he could see what Patrick had hidden under his button-ups and criminally tight jeans.

Recognizing a slim, wooden box, David opened it and pulled out the hand-blown glass dildo he’d picked up on vacation in Italy several years ago. Black, slightly curved, a thin white stripe swirling around from the pointed tip on one end to the round ball on the other. His favorite one.

He peeled back the comforter on the bed and placed his favorite lube next to the pillow. His mind wandered to Patrick again, like it had its GPS set constantly to that location. Their afternoon had gotten even flirter than usual after Patrick rudely finished David’s drink. But, fuck, the column of his throat as he swallowed the juice? David palmed his dick over his jeans. He’d love to see that throat working again. Swallowing around David’s cock.

Usually a master of denial, even David couldn’t refute that their flirting had ratcheted up a few notches. He’d been able to brush off the flirting as a side effect of their daily proximity and getting along so well. Now it seemed intentional? Like they were working up to something. He _wanted_ them to be working up to something. Something more than a quick fuck. Not that he’d turn Patrick down if all Patrick wanted was to test out a real cock, but if he was being honest with himself, he wanted more. A lot more. Everything.

David pulled his phone from his pocket and cradled the glass dildo in the palm of his other hand. Using the abysmal bathroom light, he snapped a photo. He’d probably delete it later, but maybe. Maybe he’d have the nerve.

He cleaned the toy and ran it under warm water to get it to the temperature he liked best. Walking back to the bed, he disrobed and climbed in, laying on his side, letting his mind wander to where it wanted to be.

How the hell did Patrick fit his whole goddamn hands in his impossibly tight pockets? David wrapped his own hand around his interested dick and gave it a few strokes. Could he fit his hands in Patrick’s pockets? Walk up behind him as Patrick stood at the counter, wrap his arms around Patrick’s waist, and slide his hands down. David tightened his grip.

Patrick hid his broad shoulders under those awful poly-blend shirts. Awful because, hello, poly-blend, but also awful that something so cheap could look that fucking good. Ugh. A perfectly curved ass begging to be worshipped. David would worship Patrick exactly how he deserved.

He squeezed some lube onto his palm and quickened the pace of his strokes. Patrick’s thick fingers would feel so fucking good wrapped around his cock. Opening him up, teasing at his rim. David added more lube to his fingers and teased at his hole. He pictured Patrick doing it. Focused on efficiently and effectively teasing David with the same determination he used on their store’s finances. Maybe David had a competence kink.

He pushed his finger in beyond the second knuckle and moaned. He licked his palm and stroked his dick with his left hand while working a second finger on his right hand into his hole. God, he and Patrick could make each other feel good. No, not good, _incredible._

David liked the initial stretch as his body accommodated a dick, real or otherwise, so he skipped the third finger and lubed up his dildo. Slowly pushing it inside, he rocked his hips between his hands. He twisted it and angled it exactly how he liked. He knew how to make himself feel good, but he’d love if someone else did too. Someone who paid attention to what he liked, what drove him wild. Someone like Patrick who memorized David’s coffee order after he’d heard it the first time. Patrick, who knew exactly what to get David for lunch based on his mood. Who knew when to tease and when to back off. Patrick who knew David in more ways than he knew anyone could know him.

David’s abs clenched as the orgasm built. He imagined fucking Patrick with a matching dildo, but instead of black and white, a galactic swirl of blues. Patrick on his elbows and knees, begging David to push harder, faster. He’d lick alongside the toy, trying to fit his tongue inside too.

His body tensed as he came over his fist. “Fuck. _Fuck.”_ He eased the glass dick out as he stroked himself through the orgasm. Damn. It had been way the hell too long since he’d gotten off that hard.

Once his breathing calmed, he walked to the bathroom to clean off his toy. He considered taking a photo of it first. That would send an unmistakable message, but he decided against it. He was already _A Lot_ for Patrick to deal with. Before packing the toy box away, he snapped photos of a couple other favorites.

Typically, his anxiety kept him from doing stupid shit like sending his business partner photos of sex toys, but fucked out after an orgasm like that? His anxiety was on a fifteen minute smoke break.

He launched his chat with Patrick, almost always at the top of his text list, and attached the photo of the toy before he used it.

Once you’re ready to upgrade from the budget toys, you can get the good stuff. Artisanal glass dildo from Italy  


As soon as he hit send, his anxiety returned with friends. What the fuck had he just done?! He’d taken a couple of semi-awkward conversations at work and turned it into a texting thing. Invading Patrick’s off time with a sex toy photo. A. Sex. Toy. Photo.

Goddammit! Could he be any more obvious? Or desperate?!

The dots began bouncing, and David bit his bottom lip as he sat on the edge of the bed. Normally he wouldn’t allow his designer clothes to touch the comforter, but desperate times.

That probably cost more than all my toys together  
  


David let out a long breath and clutched the phone to his chest. Between the relief and the orgasm, he could probably sleep for a week.

oh way more. Like 10x  
  
Why would you spend that much on a single toy?  
  
Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it  
  
That good, huh?  
  
*gif of a woman swinging in a hammock, a satisfied smile on her face as she takes a bite of an apple* Yes. Better than.  
  
Is that your favorite one?  


David scooted back on the bed, crossed his legs and pulled the toy box closer to him. He loved that one, but it wasn’t his favorite. Mm. The Loki Wave. That was a good one. He snapped a photo and attached it to the message.

Did you get a prostate massager in your bounty?  
  
No, but I almost did. Figured it might be a bit advanced for a beginner  
  
So, you’ve never tried that?  
  


Somehow he had the confidence to ask Patrick if he’d had his prostate played with, but he couldn’t manage a simple, _hey, I like you. Like, like-like you_.

Don’t answer that. You don’t have to answer this. I’m crossing a major boundary here. I’m sorry  
  


The dots bounced and bounced and bounced. David feared he’d have permanent hyphens in his bottom lip by the time Patrick replied with a polite but firm boundary. David couldn’t blame him. It’s like he’d seen a line and drove a tank over it.

You’re not crossing a boundary. I opened this door with you. And honestly? It’s nice to have someone to talk to about it. You make it easy to talk about  
  


Oh. He could picture that sweet blush on Patrick’s cheeks.

Oh  
  
Okay  
  
that’s great  
  
:)  
  


David’s heart pounded. He felt like they were inching closer to the edge of the cliff. He wanted to grab Patrick’s hand and jump off together.

All of his endless pining centered on the assumption Patrick was interested in men, or at least David. He wished he had the nerve to ask Patrick about his preferences. Asking about his prostate? Totally fine. Asking about his sexuality? Way the fuck too far.

What does that one feel like?  
  
Heaven? Like getting your dick sucked while someone washes your hair but better. The shorter end vibrates against the perineum and it feels like the vibration is everywhere  
  
That sounds amazing  
  


If he had the money, he’d buy Patrick all the best toys. He wanted Patrick to have an amazing time experimenting and learning what he liked. How best to make his body feel good.

It really is. Do you have a favorite toy yet?  
  
This one [image attached]  
  


David’s mouth fell open. He wasn’t expecting a photo, but as he stared at Patrick’s thick fingers wrapped around a not insignificant purple plug, his brain whited out. It looked like the biggest one in a beginner’s dilation kit. If Patrick was already using that, then he’d been moving through them quickly. Jesus christ. Probably playing with himself every night after work, settling in after a long day to work himself up to the next plug. David pressed his heel against his dick as it valiantly twitched.

He started typing, then paused. How much should he say? How far could he push it? Sharing things via text was a hell of a lot easier than in person. If he said too much, at least they could ignore it at the store tomorrow. If it came up, he could apologize and claim he was high or something.

[clapping emoji] I love plugs. They’re amazing to keep in while doing other things. Foreplay, chores, errands  
  


He bit his lip harder. No dots. Nothing to distract himself from the wave of anxiety crashing through him. Minutes passed, so David put away his toys to give himself something to do as he waited for Patrick’s reply. If he even replied. Goddammit. David knew he’d push it too far.

Toys put away and sheets stripped to wash, David walked back to his room. He grabbed a water and settled on his bed to pretend to watch whatever shitty sitcom was on. His phone buzzed minutes later and halfway through a fresh anxiety spiral.

Sorry I disappeared for a few. Ray came in to talk  
  


David frowned at his phone. He could’ve sworn Patrick had mentioned earlier that Ray was out of town for a couple of days. Maybe he’d misheard Patrick? Or maybe he needed a break from his phone to think about how to reply to David’s inappropriate message. Or- Oh. _Oh._ Oh. My god. David licked his lips. Maybe. Fuck. _Maybe_. Yeah, maybe Patrick needed a break from his phone for a few minutes.

He smiled the rest of the evening as their conversation shifted to the usual innocent topics. His smile stayed and cheeks hurt as he fell asleep.

🍑 🍑 🍑 🍑 🍑

Stevie loved to harass David by claiming he had a Patrick Face. He rejected her use of the descriptors “love sick” and “disgustingly sweet.” Each time she’d teased him, he ignored her attempts to rile him up. But now? As he watched Patrick look at him with soft eyes and a goofy smile on his face? Maybe she hadn’t been _completely_ wrong if his face looked half as bad (adorable) as Patrick’s.

He’d barely managed to re-fold the scarves after the tourists pawed through them because his attention kept seeking Patrick’s. Wanting to see the blush on his cheeks, the teasing tilt to his smile, to see if he was watching David or if he’d catch David watching him.

It was a lot of fun.

When the book club ladies who visited weekly piled out of the store, a cloud of horrific perfume trailing behind them, David turned to straighten the skincare bottles they’d messed up.

“I was thinking about the plug I showed you last night.”

David’s usually steady hand knocked the bottles he’d just straightened on their sides. “Mm?” David knew with complete certainty that Patrick’s steady tone was a new flavor of his trolling. Now that they’d talked about sex, he’d basically handed Patrick the power to troll him into oblivion. He forced his hand to stop shaking before he turned to face Patrick. He owed Patrick eye contact if Patrick had the guts to bring up sex. “What were you thinking about it?” He refused to acknowledge the squeaky tone in his voice.

Patrick’s eyes flashed with heat. It lasted a fraction of a second, but long enough that David knew, _knew_ , Patrick had thought about David and the plug. He knew it with the same certainty as being able to spot a designer knock-off. A calm settled over David. One he hadn’t felt since Patrick had looked at him and said, “oh, I’m gonna get the money.” David straightened his shoulders.

A flush crept up Patrick’s neck. He looked rosy against the pale blue button-up. “Can I ask you a question about, uh, mechanics?”

Lord, give him strength. “Absolutely. What kind of mechanics?” He sounded breezy enough. Watching how the flush deepened and spread across Patrick’s partially exposed chest helped him focus. Sort of.

As Patrick’s mouth opened and closed while he white-knuckled the edge of the counter, David tried to guess what Patrick wanted to know. A question about pegging? He could imagine Patrick enjoying some pegging with a partner of the non-penis-wielding variety. David sure did. Or maybe he wanted to know about plug safety, how long he could keep it in, what kinds of activities he could do while wearing one.

Patrick lifted his chin. “The mechanics of sex with a plug in.”

Wow. Right. Okay. “Like, if you’re penetrating—” he considered his word choice “—someone, can you wear a plug?”

Patrick blew out a breath. “Yeah, basically.” David started to speak, but Patrick opened his mouth again. He looked David right in the eyes, and David felt pinned by the weight of it. “How long can you comfortably keep one in? In the gay porn I’ve watched, I’ve seen guys keep them in during sex.” He squeezed his eyes closed. “Penetration. I realize sex is more than- Anyway.” He scrunched his face and it was so fucking adorable, David couldn’t stand it. “But in the real world—” The bell over the door chimed.

As soon as David’s brain started working again, he turned toward the customer to tell them to get the ever loving fuck out of their store. But Patrick, sweet Patrick, welcomed them and offered to help. How the hell was he so composed? He’d just casually mentioned GAY PORN and acted like he hadn’t just dropped a nuclear bomb in David’s life. The _audacity_.

Because if Patrick was asking about plugs and penetration and mentioning gay porn, surely. _Surely_. Patrick liked men, or at least curious. Wow. Okay. Yeah. David could work with that. He could definitely work with that. He smiled to himself as his now steady hand finished straightening the skincare bottles.

He moved out of the way when the customer and Patrick began talking about skincare.

“This one is my favorite hand lotion. I started using it a couple of months ago and it’s made my hands much softer. Even helped with some callouses I’ve gotten from weight lifting and playing guitar.” Patrick glanced at David as he said the latter.

Of course Patrick played guitar and had soft hands. He probably trimmed his nails to make sure nothing would scratch. Because Patrick was a fucking thoughtful person who was probably thoughtful about fucking.

The older customer was putty in Patrick’s soft hands. He up-sold them on facial moisturizer and a toner. Their conversation shifted to gardening and David was about to crawl out of his skin. Patrick looked over at him and had the nerve to flash David one of those teasing upside down smiles. Absolute menace. Once the customer started walking toward the door, David had to stop himself from pushing them out and locking the door, but Patrick asked about tomatoes. To-fucking-matoes. Either Patrick had leveled up to expert trolling or he was nervous to get back to their conversation.

God, what if he _was_ nervous? Maybe he regretted saying anything after he saw what had to be blatant thirst written all over David’s face. Even at his most settled, David couldn’t control what his face did. When it came to Patrick? No luck. David turned to straighten the stack of wool blankets while he collected himself. He’d be cool. Casual. A buddy Patrick could talk about butt stuff with. Ugh! Damn Patrick and his bro speak.

The bell chimed again, and David took a calming breath. He didn’t turn around immediately. Patrick said nothing, but he felt Patrick’s gaze on his back and it sparked a shiver. After he counted down from five, he forced a relaxed pose and turned around. “Good sale.”

“Thank you, David.” Patrick’s lips twitched. The little shit.

“So.”

“So.” Patrick arched an eyebrow.

Oh, he wanted to play? Fine. “I believe you were talking about gay porn?” David titled his head.”

Patrick blinked at him. Score a home basket for David.

“Wondering about the reality of wearing a plug while penetrating… someone?”

Patrick gave his head a quick shake and took a step toward David. The blush on his face now a distant memory and replaced by a determined set to his jaw. “While penetrating a man.”

David took a step toward Patrick, nearly crashing right into their center table. “Mm. A man. Right.” Once again Patrick got the upper-hand. “A lot of it is practice and preference, but.” He spun a ring on his index finger and looked out their front windows. “But it feels really fucking fantastic to have a plug in while penetrating someone else.” He tugged his bottom lip in his mouth as he imagined Patrick wearing a plug. “Then switching and getting fucked while you’re all loose. That’s—”

Patrick sucked in a breath. David whipped his head in Patrick’s direction. Shit. He’d gotten way too carried away. So much for being cool and casual. “Sorry. TMI.” If the ground could swallow him up, that’d be nice. He’d taught Patrick enough about skincare and the store’s aesthetic that he’d be able to get by in David’s absence.

“David, it’s not TMI. I asked you about it.”

He’d asked David an innocent question, not about David’s own experiences or preferences. But the as Patrick licked his lips and clenched his fist, David wondered if Patrick maybe appreciated that bit of personal information. “Mm, well, does that answer your question? I mean, do- do you have other questions? You can literally ask me anything.”

“Anything?”

David shifted closer to Patrick and nodded.

“That’s good to know.” Patrick’s upside down smile held promise.

David, nothing if not a masochist, ran his mouth before his brain could stop him. “Are you curious because you’re dating or something? Hitting the ol’ Bumpkin, huh?” David flashed one of his brightest smiles.

Patrick… frowned? “No. I’m not on Bumpkin. Or- or dating anyone.”

“Right,” David said on an exhale. “Not a lot of dating options in these parts.”

Patrick shoved his hands in his impossibly tight jean pockets. “I don’t know about that. I think there’s exactly enough dating prospects in Schitt’s Creek.”

Hope swelled in David’s chest as he nodded and nodded some more and kept nodding. He closed his eyes and tilted his face toward the ceiling. He’d learned to read Patrick pretty damn well, and Patrick was sending off a _lot_ of good signals. David would have to be a complete idiot not to pick any of them up. Fortunately, he was only, like, three-quarters of an idiot. “The queer scene sort of sucks here, but—” He gauged Patrick’s reaction at queer. No response. Good. “—there’s a couple people. Have you met Jake? The woodworker?”

Patrick Brewer rolled his goddamn eyes. “I have met Jake, and while I’m sure Jake is _good with wood_ , I’m more interested in someone who’s good with other things.”

David swallowed hard. “Other things?”

“Skincare, artful arrangement of Instagram photos, making a shabby second-hand table look like something out of an Ethan Allen catalog.”

Ethan Allen? Ew.

“Someone with very specific opinions about product placement. Who has excellent taste in cheese and wine. Who has the imagination to come up with a different excuse every day for why he can’t sweep the floors. Someone who can charm the pants off of any vendor.”

David pressed his lips together and slid them to one side. “I hope you mean figuratively, because I’ve never charmed the literal pants off a vendor. Though, I’m sure I could.”

Patrick’s eyebrows lifted. “Are we talking about you?”

Panic flooded David’s nervous system until his brain registered the quirk of Patrick’s lips and the twinkle in his eyes. “I don’t know anyone else in Schitt’s Creek who has all of those excellent qualities. Simple deduction.”

Patrick took another step closer. They were in arm’s reach now. “I love it when you talk deductive reasoning.”

“You are the biggest nerd I’ve ever met.”

“I’m told it’s one of my most adorable qualities.”

He hated Patrick was right.

Patrick closed the distance between them and gripped David’s biceps with hands that David now knew were soft and lightly calloused. “David, I’d like to take you to dinner.”

“I like dinner,” he said, barely above a whisper. It was a miracle his brain managed a coherent sentence with the way Patrick’s firm grip drove him to distraction. It wasn’t the first time they’d touched, but it was definitely the first time with intention.

Patrick chuckled, and the warmth of his breath tickled David’s neck. “I know you do. I’d like to be clear, though.” David wanted to fall into the pools of Patrick’s eyes. The color of the perfect caramel macchiato. “I’m asking you to go on a date. With me.”

“With you.”

Patrick swallowed, and his Adam’s apple bounced. “Yes. With me.”

David squeezed his eyes closed to memorize the moment. The way Patrick’s thumbs rubbed his arms, the scent of his cheap soap that shouldn’t smell as good as it did, the absolute fondness in his eyes. A moment he’d allowed himself to dream of often enough that it felt less and less like a possibility. David usually tried to keep his smiles tampered down after that photographer his mom had booked for his “childhood modeling career prospects” (that never took off) said wide smiles were for amateurs. Fuck that. He let his smile grow until it strained his cheeks. Patrick let out a happy sigh, and David tucked that sound away in his heart. He opened his eyes and stepped forward to slide his hands around Patrick’s waist. “I’d love to have dinner with you. As a date. A date dinner.”

“We’re doing this?” David had never seen the smile lines around Patrick’s eyes go so deep.

“I mean, I’m not going to turn down a free dinner.”

“I’m paying, am I?” Laughter tinged Patrick’s incredulous tone.

“I believe etiquette dictates the person who initiates the date pays for it.”

Patrick slid his hands up David’s arms and draped them over David’s shoulders. “Does that come from the same etiquette book that dictates the person who buys the lunch gets to eat their own fries?”

“Mm, I don’t think so. I’m not familiar with that rule.” David glanced at Patrick’s lips.

“Suspicious.” Patrick leaned in.

“Always so skeptical,” David whispered against Patrick’s mouth. The feel of Patrick’s lips against his own lit David up from the inside. He felt alive. Invigorated. He pulled one hand from Patrick’s hip to cup his head as Patrick gripped David’s hips, pulling him closer until their chests were flush against each other. Patrick moaned as David angled his head to deepen their kiss.

The bell chimed and David cursed as Patrick pulled back. “Welcome to Rose Apothecary.” Patrick licked his lips and grinned at David. “A kiss before the first date? I like it. Eases some pressure.”

More like replacing it with a different pressure. He shifted his weight to adjust himself.

“I’m going to help this person while you think about where you want to go for dinner tonight.”

“Tonight.”

Patrick winked, then turned around. “How can I help you?”

  
  


🍑 🍑 🍑 🍑 🍑

  
  


David tucked a smile in the corner of his mouth when Patrick handed him both of the Andes mints their server left with the dinner receipt. Patrick catalogued the additional dimensions to David’s smiles since they’d kissed this afternoon.

“Why are you giving them both to me? You’re the one who bought dinner.”

“It’s selfish.”

David arched an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Patrick gently knocked his foot against David’s. “I’d rather taste them on you.”

David’s mouth dropped into an O. “I don’t know why I keep letting myself be surprised.”

“By what?”

“You. This.” He waved a hand in Patrick’s direction. “You being all bold and flirty.”

Patrick huffed out a laugh. “David, I’ve been flirting with you since the day we met. We’ve already kissed.” He ignored the heat creeping up his neck as he leaned across the table. “We’ve talked about anal sex,” he said in a whisper. “I’m not a wilting lily.”

“Mm, no, but you sound like a grandmother.” David’s tucked smile turned predatory. “I’m not saying that. It’s more that I expected—” He gestured to Patrick’s chest. “The flushing. Maybe a bit of stumbling over your words.”

Patrick had expected the same, but it didn’t come. In David’s presence, he felt bold. Brave. Confident. Also horny. His dick did almost as much talking as his heart. “Night’s still young.”

David’s eyes flashed. “Shall we go?”

Patrick tipped back the rest of his drink. “Yup.”

Without looking away from Patrick, David unwrapped a mint, opened his mouth, and placed it on his flattened tongue. “Mm. Delicious.”

Patrick swallowed. He stood and held out his hand. “Let’s go.” When David intertwined his fingers with Patrick’s, he wanted to cheer. To skip and pump his fist in the air. To make eye contact with every person in the restaurant and on the street and smile so they knew how happy he was to be holding the hand of David Rose.

David. Rose.

He was on cloud nine.

They walked in silence to Patrick’s car, but shared several flirty glances. Before David pulled away to go to the passenger side, Patrick pulled him in to taste the chocolate mint. As their tongues brushed, Patrick’s heart pounded. “Delicious,” he said as he pulled away. David popped the second mint in his mouth and winked.

When Patrick pulled onto the rural highway, David placed his hand on Patrick’s thigh. Closer to his knee than hip, but still. Contact. He covered David’s hand with his own. David turned on the radio and they sat in comfortable silence on the drive.

Patrick wasn’t ready for the night to end. He wanted more time with David to bask in the warm smiles David now offered more freely with a couple glasses of wine running through his body. He wanted to feel David’s lips pressed against his own. The weight of his body pushing him down onto the bed. Couch. Hell, wherever.

As the ridiculous town sign came into view, Patrick’s stomach tightened. He didn’t want to drop David off and end the best day of his life to fall back into the real world. Sure, the real world included David and maybe more dates with him, but he wanted this, now.

“I can drop you of, or…” From the corner of his eye, he saw David turn to look at him.

“Or? Go to the store and do inventory? Swing by the cafe for frozen cheesecake? Pick up trash along the highway?”

“Have a drink with me. At Ray’s. My place. My and Ray’s place.”

David gently squeezed his thigh. “Will Ray be joining us for this drink?”

Patrick laughed. “No. He’s out of town for a couple of days.” He felt David’s gaze on him.

“Okay. I’d like that.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. But if Ray is there after all, you’re driving me home immediately.”

“Deal.”

After parking, Patrick kept his hand at the small of David’s back as they walked to the front door. He could do that now. Casually touch David’s back.

“I haven’t been here since the day we met.” David looked down at his feet.

“That was a great day.” Patrick stopped at the door, but before unlocking it, he wrapped his arm around David’s waist and pulled him in for another kiss. “I wanted to kiss you that day.” He kissed the corner of David’s mouth. “And every day since.” The little strangled sound David made thrilled him.

“I think you promised me a drink,” David said, a little breathless.

They settled close to each other on the couch, each holding a glass of wine and the bottle on the table in front of them. The silence thickened as they sipped their drinks. Not uncomfortable, but charged. Anticipation thrummed through Patrick as he leaned back on the couch. He’d operated on instinct during most of his time with David. Teasing him the day they’d met, picking up a frame for the business license when running errands in Elm Glen, offering to help David with grants, asking to join the business, opening up about his sexual exploration. That instinct hadn’t led him astray yet. Actually, it had led him right to Ray’s second-hand couch.

Patrick was a man of data, and the data said to keep following his gut. His gut wanted David. More of him. Tonight. There were reasons to take things slow, sure, but he was an adult who understood the complexities of introducing sex when feelings were involved. He didn’t want to wait for some imaginary date or milestone to feel more ready. He _was_ ready.

“I’m really glad you accepted my dinner invitation, David.”

David shifted to face Patrick and rested the base of his stemmed wine glass on his thigh. “That’s a lovely thing to say.”

“And I’m really glad you asked me out, Patrick. Otherwise we would have danced around our feelings and flirted shamelessly until the town staged an intervention.”

“Ew. Do you think they would have?”

Patrick wanted to kiss the deepening dimples on David’s face. “Absolutely. I think we’ve been pretty insufferable.”

“Speak for yourself. I’m the exact right amount of sufferable.”

“I won’t argue with that.” Patrick leaned forward and kissed the spot under David’s jaw he’d been itching to for ages. The stubble scratched his lips as he’d imagined a thousand times.

David hummed as Patrick dropped light kisses down his neck. “We wouldn’t want to inconvenience the town. How about we do this again?”

“Do what again?” Patrick kissed David’s collarbone, just above the neckline of his lightning bolt sweater.

“Dinner. A date.”

Patrick pulled back to look David in the eyes. He managed a couple seconds of eye contact before David glanced away. “You want to go on another date? With me?”

David did an exasperated wiggle that nearly toppled his wine glass. Patrick rescued both of their glasses and placed them on the coffee table for safekeeping. “I don’t really want the awkwardness of having gone on a date, then pretend like it didn’t happen at work.”

Patrick frowned. Not exactly what he wanted to hear. “You want to go out again so it’s not awkward at work?”

David looked panicked for a moment. “No! No. I just. Ugh.” He squeezed his eyes closed. “I don’t want to show up at work tomorrow and things be all awkward between us while we wait for one of us to ask the other one out again.” He exhaled a long breath. “I’m terrible at this. Dating. Relationships.”

The apprehension melted away as David used the R-word. “Me too. We’ll figure it out. Together.” He grabbed David’s hand.

“Together. Okay.” He took a deep breath. “Patrick, I’d love to take you to dinner this weekend.”

“I’d really like that.” Patrick’s skin hummed as David did that adorable thing where he pressed his lips between his teeth, making his dimples deepen. “What are the rules about making out? Is that after the first or second date?”

“There are no rules.” He leaned back against the arm of the couch and pulled Patrick onto him. “This okay?” He said the words against Patrick’s throat.

“More than.” He shifted to he straddle one of David’s legs and let his weight rest on his arms, which were placed on each side of David’s shoulders. He lost himself to the hot press of David’s mouth against his own. David wrapped his arm tightly around Patrick’s lower back, and it anchored him. The sensation of David under him, around him, was the best thing he’d ever felt. He never wanted it to end.

When he needed to catch his breath, he dropped his face into the crook of David’s neck. A place he’d dreamt of getting to be every day since they’d met. The quick sample he’d gotten during their opening night hug hadn’t been enough. He kissed the stubbled skin under David’s jaw and smiled at David’s happy sigh.

David slid his hand down and tugged the back of Patrick’s shirt out of his jeans. As soon as David’s fingers touched Patrick’s hot skin, he made a sound a little too close to a whimper. “Like that?”

“Yes.” He pushed back into David’s hand and caused David’s fingers to slip under the waistband of his jeans. Patrick pressed an open-mouthed kiss to David’s neck and trailed his mouth to David’s earlobe. “I like your hands on me.”

“Yeah?” David slid one hand further up Patrick’s bare back as the fingertips of his other traced along the waistband of his underwear. “I like my hands on you, too. I also like your mouth on me.”

Working on pure instinct, Patrick flicked his tongue behind David’s earlobe and pressed his hips into David’s. He’d never felt more powerful than from the sensation David get hard underneath him, _because of him_. He needed more of David’s mouth. Now that he could finally kiss David, he wouldn’t waste a damn second.

Resting more of his weight on his left arm, he slid his right hand under David’s sweater. He moved slowly to not harm what probably cost more than Patrick’s monthly rent. When Patrick reached the patch of hair on David’s chest, he moaned and ran his fingers through it, clutching, savoring. “You’re so fucking sexy,” he said against David’s lips.

“Did you just say _fuck?_ Jesus, Patrick!” David dropped his head back on the arm of the couch. “Why was that so hot?” He lifted his head and glared accusingly at him. “How are _you_ so fucking hot?”

Patrick answered by grinding down on David again, and they both moaned. The movement caused David’s fingers to slip further into his jeans. They brushed the top of his crease over his underwear, and he wanted more. He shifted his body so David’s hand moved deeper and grazed over his cheek. “Let’s go upstairs? To my bed.” He closed his eyes and focused on David’s hands being so close to where he needed them.

“Are you sure?” At the hesitation in David’s voice, Patrick opened his eyes and found David’s own wide as saucers.

Patrick fought a wave of panic crashing over him. Shit. Had he assumed too much? He’d been so focused on trying to send David signals he was interested, he hadn’t thought enough about whether David was. “I mean- W-we don’t have to—”

David pressed a finger over Patrick’s lips. “I’m not saying I don’t want to. I seriously want to.” Patrick relaxed and gently bit the tip of David’s finger. “But I’m surprised you do? Already?” His voice went high.

Patrick shrugged, which was hard to do while on top of David on a narrow couch. “It’s not the first time I’ve thought about getting you in my bed, David.”

“Oh,” he said on a breath, smirking, dimples deepening. The same expression he’d had when Patrick told David he’d get the grant money. That moment was burned into his memory forever.

“I know we don’t have to do anything tonight, but if you’re interested in, um, doing some things, I’m interested. I’d like to. Do things.” He squeezed his eyes closed. Why was this so hard? “I’ve waited a long time to get here, and I want to explore things. With you.” He took a steadying breath and looked David right in the eyes. “I want you, David.”

David blinked once. Twice. Then surged up and captured Patrick’s lips while squeezing Patrick’s ass. “Yeah. Yup. Let’s go.” Sliding his hand out of Patrick’s jeans, he pushed at Patrick’s shoulders. Patrick climbed off, laughing.

He stood and offered David a hand. Using more strength than necessary, he pulled David up and against him. “Hi.”

David wrapped his arms around Patrick’s shoulders. “Hi, there.”

Patrick’s arms wrapped naturally around David’s waist. “I’m really happy you’re here.”

David closed his eyes and smiled. “Your earnestness is literally going to kill me, isn’t it?”

“You’re good at sex talk. I’m good at romance talk. With our powers combined—“

“Absolutely not. Nerdy talk is _not_ sexy foreplay. No.”

Laughing again, Patrick pulled David up to his bedroom, but stopped outside his closed door. “I didn’t decorate this place. Ray did, so, um, please don’t let it kill the mood.”

David grimaced. “How bad is it?”

Patrick pushed his bedroom door open, walked in and stepped to the side.

“Oh. My god. This is an assault on so many fronts.”

“If I thought you’d actually be back here tonight, I’d have…” He trailed off.

David looked at Patrick and flashed that sideways smile he loved. “You’d have what? Replaced the wallpaper with a nice greige? Dumped all the tchotchkes? Put up blinds instead of the floral curtains? Picked up a lush white duvet? Swapped the furniture with a matching set in a distressed wood grayish brown?”

Patrick blinked at him. In a fraction of a second, he could see himself following David around their home as he took notes on how David wanted to decorate. _Slow down, Brewer. This is a first date._ When it came to David, it was nearly impossible to slow down his future-focused thinking. “Yeah. All of that.”

The smirk didn’t leave David’s face as he did a slow sweep of the room. It shifted to horror when he picked up a small cat figurine. His nostrils flared as he practically dropped it back on the dresser. “You’d better kiss me again before the state of this room kills the mood entirely.”

Patrick didn’t need to be told twice. He crossed the room to David in three steps. Their bodies, lips, limbs fit perfectly together.

David pulled back, panting. “We should talk first.”

Patrick kissed under David’s jaw. “Talk about what?”

David dug his fingers into Patrick’s shoulders. “Fuck, that feels good. Um, talk. You know. About this. Us.” He gave his head a shake. “I mean this. What you want to do. Tonight.”

Patrick pulled back and grabbed David’s hand, intertwining their fingers. “Okay. Let’s talk.” He walked David to his wooden chair, then sat on the edge of the bed opposite him.

David eyed him warily as Patrick reached down to pick up one of David’s feet and began untying the laces. “Are you taking my shoes off?”

“Shoes on a bed are incorrect, David.”

David’s enormous grin was like a prize. He threaded his fingers under the laces to loosen them up.

“What do you want to do tonight?”

Patrick pulled the two sides of the shoe apart. He looked up at David and batted his eyelashes. “You.”

David kicked his hand. “Troll. Can you be a little more specific?”

He clutched David’s ankle and slid the shoe off, then carefully put his foot and shoe back on the ground. He picked up David’s other foot and started the process over. “Obviously this is a team decision, but what I’d like to do—” He studied the perfectly even bow on the shoelaces. He’d never noticed that before, but of course they’d be perfect and symmetrical. It was so David. Patrick considered what he wanted to do, what he’d feel comfortable with, what he’d regret not asking for, what he wanted to save for another time. He smiled to himself. He had another time with David. Maybe many other times.

He removed the second shoe and placed it on the ground, but kept David’s foot on his knee. He slid a hand under the tight cuff of David’s skinny jeans, running his fingers along the hair. “What I want is to get naked and feel your body against mine. I want my mouth and hands on you. I want you inside of me. And I want you to stay the night so I can wake up with you, drive you home to get ready for work and spend tomorrow kissing you between customers.” He looked up at David. “We don’t have to do all of that if you’re not comfortable. Honestly? I’d be really fucking happy if we cuddled and kissed some more.”

David looked frozen. The only obvious sign he wasn’t a statue was his slow blinking. “That’s—” He sucked in a shaky breath. “Yeah. I’m on board with that.” David retrieved his foot from Patrick’s lap and stood. He stalked toward Patrick like a jungle cat. All lean limbs and grace. Patrick’s legs fell open as David stepped between them. He damn near purred as David ran his fingers through Patrick’s short hair and clutched what he could, tilting Patrick’s head back. Patrick wrapped his arms around David’s thighs and lost himself to the feeling of David looming over him. He should grow his hair out a little longer, so David had more to grab. “You said you wanted me in you.”

Patrick licked his lips. “I did.” The words he wanted to say lodged in his throat. He’d been bold so far, and David had responded well. Why stop now? With David looking at him like that, like he was the cherry on top of David’s favorite ice cream, how could he not ask for what he wanted? “Every time I touch myself, I think of your fingers opening me up for your cock.” He squeezed the backs of David’s thighs.

As David studied him, all he could hear was his heartbeat thundering. Before he had a chance to second guess his honesty, David pushed him back on the bed and crawled on top of him. He thought it felt good to be on top of David? That was nothing compared to David’s weight settling over him.

“Are you sure? That’s a lot in one night.” David’s eyes burned.

“I won’t break, David. I’m ready.”

David squeezed his eyes closed and rubbed his hardening dick against Patrick’s hip. When his eyes popped open, Patrick knew David was all in. “Mm, of course you’re ready. Fucking yourself with all those toys you bought. When you use them, you think of me, don’t you?” David kissed down Patrick’s jaw and neck.

“Every fucking time.” He grinned at David’s sharp exhale. “When I finger myself, I imagine how your long fingers would feel inside of me. Putting a plug in me to keep me open while I suck you, get you hard and ready to fuck me.”

“I’m so fucking hard for you.” David ground his hips into Patrick’s again, getting more of a rhythm going.

Patrick groaned and focused on the feeling of David’s dick against him. He slid his hands into the back pockets of David’s jeans and pulled their bodies even closer together.

“How are you this hot? That mouth of yours.”

“Guess I’ve got a sloppy mouth after all.”

David smiled down at him. His carefully styled hair shifted forward from the gravity, and the overhead light gave him a halo. He looked perfect. “How’d you picture me fucking you? On your hands and knees while I pressed your face down into the mattress?”

Flames licked at his stomach. “No. I mean, yeah, I’ve pictured that. But not- not this time.” David’s brows furrowed. “I want to see you. I just want to see you.”

David searched his eyes, then leaned down for the sweetest kiss. Patrick knew David sometimes struggled with saying how he felt when it mattered, but he could read David’s actions better than the Blue Jays roster. David pulled back slightly and kissed Patrick’s cheek, nose, forehead, then sat up and straddled Patrick’s waist. He slapped his palms on the front of Patrick’s shoulders. “Right. You sure you’re prepared for this? Because I will not have your first time being penetrated by a person be something painful or traumatic. Nor will I stand for our first time having sex being anything but extraordinary.”

“Okay, David.” Patrick couldn’t hold back his smile. David’s stern expression cracked for a second. “Want me to pull out the largest toy I bought to prove what I can take?”

David huffed out a breath. “No, Mr. Smartass.”

“I’d prefer Mr. Sexyass, thanks.”

“Fucking troll.” David’s thumbs worked circles over Patrick’s shoulders. Patrick spotted the exact moment David shifted from concern and care to something more wicked. “You might need to buy a new toy because once you have my thick cock in you, those starter plugs just won’t do it for you anymore.”

“Jesus.” Patrick dropped his head back on the bed and doubted if he’d survive the night. There were worse ways to go.

“I prefer David. Or Sex God works too.” He grinned as his fingers worked the buttons of Patrick’s shirt open. “I’m going to make you feel so good. Promise you’re going to communicate with me. What feels good and what doesn’t, okay?”

“I promise.” He covered David’s hands with his own. “I need you to promise the same. We stop if _either_ of us wants to.” He didn’t know specifics about David’s history, but the occasional horrifying anecdotes he’d shared told Patrick that David had some scars. The last thing he wanted to do was add to them.

David swallowed, and his Adam’s apple bounced. “Promise.”

“Thank you, Mr. Sex God.”

David tugged his bottom lip into his mouth and finished unbuttoning Patrick’s shirt. “I’m ready to see what you’ve been hiding under your ridiculously tight jeans.”

“I could say the same.” He leaned up and captured David’s lips in a kiss. Kissing David Rose was heady and addicting.

They stood and undressed each other. Once down to their underwear, they climbed onto the bed. Patrick laid on his back, and David on his side, facing him. He knew exactly what he wanted, but not how to get there. Should they kiss longer? Slide his hand in David’s underwear and finally feel him? Rip off his own underwear and grab the lube?

The fingertips of David’s right hand skated over Patrick’s stomach. “Can I touch you?”

“You’re already touching me.” David pinched the side of his belly button. “Yes, please,” Patrick said on a laugh at David’s scowl. Torturously slowly, David moved his hand under the waistband of Patrick’s underwear. At least he’d worn his better boxer-briefs for their date to boost his confidence.

As soon as David made contact with his dick, Patrick sucked in a breath. “Oh. _Oh._ ” He felt David watching his face, but he couldn’t look away from the shape of David’s hand moving under the thin layer of cotton. David ran his thumb over the head, spreading the precome around. “S’good.” He dropped his head back on the pillow. “Love your hands.”

David’s fingers traveled south and squeezed his balls, tickled over his perineum, and teased near his hole. Patrick bent his knees and placed his feet on the bed, dropping his legs open. David took advantage of the better access to rub a dry finger over his hole. Patrick considered rummaging through his night stand to find lube and beg David to go to town.

“Eager,” David said, sounding pleased. Patrick realized he’d been gyrating his hips as David explored.

“Pretty sure I’ve made that clear already.” He glared at David.

“You have, but I like it. A lot. Seeing you let loose and ask for what you want is incredibly sexy.” David tugged his bottom lip between his teeth. “Letting me be the one to give it to you?” David wrapped his fingers around Patrick’s dick and gave him a firm stroke. “It’s so hot.”

He looked up at David’s flushed face. Seeing him turned on by simply touching Patrick? God. He needed to get his hands on David now. His mouth. “Can I suck you?”

David startled, but then a slow grin curved his mouth. He nodded and laid back on Patrick’s other pillow, tucking one arm under his head. The angle highlighted the curve of his bicep, and Patrick let himself kiss it. He moved down David’s body, kissing and licking a path as he went. When he reached David’s underwear, he looked up for permission to remove them. David nodded.

Patrick stilled for a moment. His fantasies were actually coming to life. Sure, he’d watched some videos and read tips for good blowjobs, but putting it into practice? He hoped he’d get points for enthusiasm. During the height of his research phase, he’d read somewhere to give head and hand jobs like how he enjoyed them, then go from there. So he did. He hummed at the weight of David’s cock against his tongue. David’s musky scent and soft skin cranked up his arousal. He’d happily suck David forever.

“Feels so good.” David’s fingers moved through Patrick’s hair. “Yeah, like that. If you put your tongue- yes. Fuck, _yes_.” David talked him through his first blowjob, and he catalogued everything to make it even better next time. “Stop, stop!”

Patrick pulled back instantly. “You okay?”

“Didn’t want to come.” David rubbed his face, then looked down at Patrick with so much happiness in his eyes. Patrick couldn’t remember seeing David that relaxed before. “Because someone wants to get dicked down.”

Patrick nipped at David’s hip. “Generous of you.”

“I’m a very generous person.” He arched an eyebrow. “My turn?”

Patrick scrambled up the bed and flopped onto his back next to David. “God, yes.” He reached over and pulled out his half-empty bottle of lube and one of the new condoms he’d picked up while grocery shopping last week in a moment of pure optimism.

There were so many sensations across his body that he couldn’t keep up. David’s fingernails scraping down his thigh, his hand squeezing the base of Patrick’s dick as he worked his mouth over the head and shaft. The stubble scratching his inner thighs. But his favorite was the sounds David made, like _he_ was the one being taken apart with every flick of a tongue. Like making Patrick feel good was all he needed to be happy.

And fuck if that wasn’t a heady feeling.

Patrick sucked in a breath as a slicked fingertip grazed his hole. “Yes. _Please_.” He’d grown used to the feeling of his own hands. Sure, it felt good, but he always knew to expect every touch before it happened. David, though. _David._ Not only were his fingers absolute magic, Patrick couldn’t anticipate a single thing. Each touch built on the last until he squirmed with need. The need to have David inside. His hole squeezed desperately around nothing.

“Look at that.” David sounded breathless. “You want it so much.”

Patrick bit his bottom lip so hard he feared a permanent mark. “ _Please._ ”

David looked up at him, breathing hard. The way David looked up at him with hunger in his onyx eyes left Patrick feeling more _right_ in his skin than he ever had before. “You’re so hot, Patrick. Fuck. You’re- _fuck_.” He looked back down at Patrick’s groin. He should feel shy with someone focused on the most secret part of his body, but how could waste time being bothered with it when David looked at him like he was a caramel macchiato, chocolate chip muffin and extra cheesy pizza all in one?

As David’s fingertip breached the first ring of muscle at Patrick’s hole, he clutched at his own hair. Fingering himself was nothing like having David in him.

“More. Please.” The rational side of his brain—though it was losing control to his impulsive side—knew he robust needed prep. He’d taken his largest toy several times, but now that he’d seen David’s cock? Yeah. He needed the prep, but fuck. He wanted David in him _now_.

“Yeah?” David moaned as he rubbed a second fingertip against Patrick’s rim. “This is even better than I’ve imagined.”

Patrick shifted his hips to try to get David’s second finger inside. He groaned at the stretch when David gave him what he needed. “What did you imagine? Tell me.” A bead of sweat trailed down his temple.

David kissed his inner thigh. “Remember that picture I sent you?” Patrick’s breathing matched the pace of David’s two fingers moving in and out.

“Glass dildo.” How could he forget? He’d made a damn secret album on his phone and saved it.

“I was so turned on thinking about you and your toys.” David cupped Patrick’s balls with his free hand. “As soon as I could, I snuck away to get my toys out. I saw that one and thought it would look so pretty in you.”

Patrick sucked in a breath as David added a third finger. So close to what he really wanted. “Wanna see it in you.”

David’s mouth curled up in a wicked grin. “You wanna fuck me with my fancy Italian dildo?”

Running shaking fingers through his hair, Patrick breathed through the stretch. David must have sensed Patrick needed a second because he stilled. “Wanna fuck you with my cock.”

David’s eyebrows shot skyward. “You do?”

He knew there were a thousand conversations they needed to have, and it wasn’t the time for nine hundred and ninety-nine of them. “Google tells me that’s vers?”

David curled his fingertips. “Jesus christ, Patrick.” Patrick couldn’t catch his breath. David looked so _happy_. “We’re going to have so much fun together.”

“How about you stop thinking about when I’m gonna fuck you and you fuck me?” He pushed down on David’s hand and was rewarded with a brush to his prostate. He saw stars. Whoa. “Tell me more about the glass dildo.”

David stretched his fingers inside of Patrick. If he kept that up, Patrick wasn’t sure he’d last long enough for David to get his dick inside. “After I took that photo, I fucked myself with it. Sprawled out on the bed, thinking of you. Wishing it were you.” He ran his tongue up the under side of Patrick’s dick. “I came shouting your name.”

Holy shit. Patrick cupped David’s cheek, and he leaned into Patrick’s hand. “I wish I’d been there.”

“You’re here now,” David whispered.

Patrick clenched around David’s fingers. “Unnf. _Fuck.”_

“Good idea.” David pulled his fingers out, and Patrick whimpered at the loss. “S’okay. I’ve got you.” David kissed across Patrick’s lower stomach. “Like this?”

“Yeah. Facing you.” Patrick reached for David, and he came willingly. Patrick tucked his arms under David’s armpits, wrapped them around David’s chest, and kissed him deeply.

David slowly pulled back and placed a gentle kiss beneath Patrick’s ear. “You ready?”

“So ready.” Patrick panicked for a moment that the mood had shifted from sexy to too soft. But one look at the relaxed tilt to David’s shoulders and his smile pushed any doubt away. For as detached as David tried to act, Patrick knew better. “Hey.” He ran a hand through David’s hair and slid it down to cup his cheek. “I’m really happy to be here with you doing this.”

David turned his head to kiss Patrick’s palm. The intimacy left tears stinging at the back of his eyes. “Me too. Thank you for—” David waved his hand, gesturing around them.

“I trust you, David.”

David let out a strangled whimper. David blinked quickly. “Right. Well.” He cleared his throat and sat up to rest on his heels. “I hope you trust me to give you the best orgasm of your life.”

He loved how easily they flowed from tender to scorching. Just as easily as they shifted between teasing and serious outside of the bedroom. “You think so? I have high expectations.” He tried to sound cocky, but it was impossible to stop his voice from cracking as he watched David slide a condom on and lube himself up. The glistening head of his cock peeked through his fist as he stroked himself with a flourish. David Rose did everything with a flourish.

“Careful, sexy, you’re drooling.”

Instinctively, Patrick wiped at his mouth and found it dry. He flipped David off and grinned at David’s laughter. Patrick bent his legs and planted his feet flat on the bed.

David shifted forward, and Patrick felt the head of his dick against his hole. “Tell me to stop or slow down anytime, okay?” David stared at him with a serious expression.

“Of course. You too.”

David blinked. “Right. Yeah. Okay.” Patrick filed that away for one of their later conversations.

As the head of David’s cock pressed inside, David bent down and licked into Patrick’s mouth. Between the pressure at his ass and the hottest kiss of his life, Patrick’s entire body lit up. He didn’t get the chance to tense up because David kept him distracted with kisses, dragging one hand up Patrick’s side, the other slowly jerking his dick.

David trailed his lips and tongue down Patrick’s neck as his hips stilled once he was fully seated. “You okay?”

Patrick closed his eyes and smiled. He focused on the delicious weight of David, the warm stretch unlike any of the toys he’d used, the tickle of David’s body hair against his skin, the way his muscles relaxed as he acclimated. “I’m fucking fantastic.”

David’s throaty laugh caressed Patrick’s neck. “Yeah, you are.”

Patrick’s heart swelled, and he tilted his head to kiss David. “You feel amazing. God, I’ve wanted this so much.” He hooked his heel over David’s leg. “Wanted _you_ so much.”

David let out a shaky breath. “Ready for me to make you feel good?”

“David, you’ve already made me feel good. Can you make me feel great?”

David’s soft expression shifted into something more… David. So much of their dynamic had been about battling for control, and he was relieved that hadn’t changed as their relationship did. David braced himself on his hands next to Patrick’s shoulders. “I’m going to make you yell my name now.”

David rolled his hips slowly. Patrick sucked in his breath, which made David’s grin grow. His nearly black eyes turned even darker. “That’s what I thought.” He rolled his hips again, with a bit more insistence.

How was Patrick supposed to respond with David literally pushing the sense out of him with his cock? He barely held on as David worked up to a steady rhythm. He could feel everything. Every ridge, groove, slide. He’d never been so present during sex before. So absorbed in what was happening and just wanting to… feel.

“S’amazing.” He pulled himself out of the reverie to participate. He rocked his hips up to meet David’s as he ran one hand through David’s hair. At one particularly hard thrust, his hand tightened in David’s hair, eliciting a deep groan. Another thing for the list later.

Later. He had a _later_ with David. He didn’t know what it would look like, but he knew they had something special. With David’s gentle touches and soft looks, he knew David wanted to see where it went too.

“F-fuck.” David tilted his head back and a drop of sweat slid down his neck. Patrick leaned up to lick it away. “You’re so tight.”

“Not for long with your cock in me,” Patrick panted. David wasn’t slight in the dick department. Thick and gorgeous.

“Unff. Taking me so well.” David picked up the pace as he sat up on his knees. He wrapped his hands around Patrick’s thighs and pulled Patrick partially onto his lap.

Patrick shouted at the change in angle. “Yeah! _Yeah!_ ” He clutched the sheet until his knuckles turned white. He couldn’t take his eyes off of David’s body. The ripple in his arms as he held Patrick’s legs, the tension in his abs, the roll of his shoulders as he tilted his head back and closed his eyes. David always held himself on guard. Even at his most exasperated when screaming at Alexis, David seemed fully aware of his reactions and conscious of how he was potentially perceived by those around him. Patrick had gotten through those walls in the time they’d known each other, but he never dared to imagine David _this_ relaxed. Losing himself to his own pleasure.

For as finicky and demanding David could be, it was usually a show. A layer of protection, and he was letting Patrick peek behind the curtain. That realization sent Patrick closer to the edge. “Fu-fuck. Yeah. Right there.” David’s cock hit his prostate. “Don’t stop!” Patrick arched his back and did his best to continue meeting David’s thrusts, but his rhythm faltered. He was too close, he couldn’t stop.

“Look at you,” David sounded awed. He stared down at Patrick and licked his lips. “All flushed and pretty for me.” David thrusted even harder. “So fucking beautiful.”

Patrick’s body tensed as the orgasm crashed over him. Come spilled on his hot skin.

“Oh my _god._ ” David collapsed down, their sweaty chests pressed together, David’s hips grinding in a slow circle.

“Don’t stop, don’t stop, dontstopdontstop.” It was almost too sensitive, but Patrick wanted to feel David come inside of him. Needed to. “Don’t fucking stop!”

“Patrick!” David yelled into Patrick’s neck as his hips stilled, pressing even further into Patrick.

Patrick wrapped his arms around David and held on tight. Not wanting to let him go, not yet.

David shifted his head and peppered kisses all over Patrick’s face and jaw. “You okay?”

Patrick placed his palms on David’s cheeks. He’d never felt happier. “I’m amazing, David. Thank you for making that happen for us.”

David’s dimples deepened as his smile pinched to one side. “I’m a very generous person.”

Patrick attempted to clench around David’s soft dick. “Not the only thing that’s generous.”

“Such a thirsty bottom.” David gave Patrick one more quick kiss, then slowly pulled out. He sat up and stared at Patrick’s hole, transfixed.

“Can you blame me? You’re pretty great.”

David’s attention shifted to Patrick’s face. “That’s the afterglow talking.”

Patrick attempted his best _I’m not taking your shit_ look. “You know as well as I do that I’d say that while we’re fully clothed.”

David sighed. “I do.” He looked pleased as hell about it.

“Anyway, I know I’m pretty great too.”

One of David’s eyebrows arched. “Oh? And how do you know that?”

“You yelled my name.”

David swatted Patrick’s chest as he laughed. “I’m going to get rid of this. You a towel under the bed guy or is there something clean I can get like a civilized adult?”

“Left cupboard under the bathroom sink. I’ll save the bed towel for when I’m alone.”

“Thank god for small miracles.” David slapped Patrick’s thigh as he climbed off the bed.

Patrick couldn’t take his eyes off the way David’s long legs moved. They looked amazing in clothes, but naked? Incredible.

David opened the door and paused. He turned to look over his shoulder and smiled broad enough to deepen his dimples more than Patrick had ever seen. “Be right back.”

“Hurry.” Patrick smiled back and patted the bed next to him.

Once David was out of sight, Patrick scrubbed his face with his hand. He’d just had sex with David Rose. He’d just had sex with a man. Anal sex was a fucking revelation.

David returned a couple of minutes later with a washcloth. Patrick shamelessly checked out David’s body. “You’re gorgeous, David.”

David’s steps faltered. “Um, thank you.” His cheeks tinged pink.

“You just had your cock in my ass. I think the time for being shy has past.” David threw the washcloth and it hit Patrick in the face. “I can’t tell if you were aiming for my groin and missed terribly or you actually have good aim. We could use a new pitcher on the team.”

“Despite both of us knowing what a great _pitcher_ I am, I think I’ll pass.” David smirked as he climbed onto the bed and stretched out on his side next to Patrick.

Patrick started to wipe the come off his chest, but he paused when David covered Patrick’s hand with his own. They smiled at each other for a moment, and Patrick lost himself in David’s eyes. Together, they cleaned Patrick up. It was a level of intimacy Patrick had never experienced with someone.

David rested his head against Patrick’s chest. “So.”

“So,” Patrick replied.

“We fucked.” David’s tone held a casual bravado, but Patrick heard the hesitation in his tone. David was complex and wonderful. Tender and caring as he took Patrick through a huge milestone while leaving himself vulnerable. He trusted Patrick with his own insecurities.

“We did.”

“Verdict?”

“Looking for a Google review?”

“Google review? Are you boomer? Fan Instagram accounts only, please.”

Patrick brought David’s hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss against his palm. “Your dick is even better than I imagined. It’s like a magic wand that made me see stars.”

“Imagine it a lot?” David waggled his eyebrows.

Patrick pressed his finger under David’s chin and tilted his head up. “David, if I told you how often I imagined you fucking me and me fucking you, you’d probably go into witness protection.” Glancing down at their intertwined fingers, he smiled. “It’s a lot.”

“You fucking me, huh? Is that something you want?”

His breath caught as he snapped his attention to David. “Is that something _you_ want?”

“With you? Yeah.” David looked over Patrick’s body, pausing at his cock. It felt like a caress. David cleared his throat. “Yes, I do.”

“I look forward to that.” He kissed David, a little lingering, a little sexy, a little breathless when he pulled back. “Maybe after tomorrow’s date?”

David kissed Patrick’s nipple. “Is it everything you thought it would be?”

Patrick laughed. “I’m sure as hell glad I practiced otherwise the transition wouldn’t have been as, uh, smooth.”

“If you hadn’t been practicing, I wouldn’t have gone that far tonight.”

A lump formed in Patrick’s throat. David never ceased to amaze him. “Good thing you’ve inspired all that practice.”

David dropped back on his shoulders and groaned. “Killing. Me.”

With David’s chest prominently displayed, Patrick leaned forward and kissed one of his nipples. His dick valiantly twitched at David’s small moan. “Would you be comfortable spending the night? Or do you want me to drive you home?” He found it easier to say the words to David’s chest.

“You want me to spend the night?” David sounded shocked.

Patrick frowned. “Of course I do. I’m not ready to let you go yet. I’ve got you in my bed, and I kind of want to keep you here.”

“This isn’t going to turn into a _Misery_ situation, is it? Are you the Kathy Bates in this scenario?”

Patrick shot David a look. He knew David was deflecting.

David draped an arm over his face. “It’s just that people rarely want to stick around after they’ve come. That’s when things wrap up.”

Patrick waited David out. When David gave up hiding under his arm, Patrick wrapped his own arm around David’s waist. “David, I’m not most people. I know it’s difficult, but I’m asking you to have an open mind. This is new for both of us.”

David nodded, eyes glistening. “Okay.”

“Will you stay the night?” Patrick held his breath.

David trailed a fingertip across Patrick’s stomach. “Yeah, I’d like to stay.” His head snapped up. “Unless you snore? Do you snore?”

“I’ve been told it’s more like a cute whistle.”

“Ew.”

“I’ve got pajamas you can wear.”

David pressed his lips between his teeth. “You expect me to sleep in these sheets with a single digit thread count and pajamas in a man-made fabric? These are not the kind of accommodations I can tolerate,” David said in a haughty tone.

“It’s your call. I’m going to go brush my teeth. Pajamas are in the second drawer.”

Reluctantly, Patrick pulled himself out of the bed. He opened the drawer to pull out the pajamas David was least likely to select to wear and grabbed them for himself.

“I suppose if I suffer through your clothes, it’ll keep mine fresh to wear back to the motel tomorrow.”

“Because the walk from this house to my car and my car to your room is bound to leave you open to visits from everyone in town.”

David glared at him. “Clearly you’ve never been accosted by Roland appearing out of nowhere.”

“Definitely wouldn’t want you looking rumpled for Roland.”

“Fuck off. Go brush your teeth.”

Every teasing barb settled deeper in his heart. When he reached his bedroom door, David called his name. He gripped the door frame and turned around. “Yeah?”

“You said Ray is still gone tomorrow night, right?”

Patrick’s smile tugged at his cheeks. “Yup.”

David nodded a few times. “Still on for that second date?”

Patrick was so fucking happy. “Absolutely. I expect a restaurant with at last a four-star Yelp review.”

David’s eyes narrowed. “Cafe Tropical, and you can fuck me.” Patrick’s heart skipped a bit, imagining David choosing his least favorite restaurant to maximize their alone time together.

“Then you’d better pack a bag. Wouldn’t want you to suffer through wearing my pajamas two nights in a row.” He winked and turned away.

“Patrick?”

Patrick laughed and turned back. “Yes, David?”

“You know, if we closed the store, we could stay in bed all day tomorrow.” He knew the affect he had on Patrick. That little smirk and the way he trailed his fingertips across his chest.

“You think I’ll say no, don’t you?”

David’s eyes widened. “Are you going to say yes?!”

“Sure, if you don’t mind a delay in getting your espresso machine. The money’s got to come from somewhere.”

David tossed a pillow at him. “You and your practicalities.”

Patrick slowly traced his hand down his chest and to his ass, then gave it a squeeze. David’s attention tracked every centimeter. “Your choice, David. Espresso machine on schedule or this ass, uninterrupted, all day.” He turned and walked to his bathroom with his shoulders squared and head held high.

“I hate you!” David yelled.

“No, you don’t!” Patrick yelled back, walking on a cloud to get ready to spend his first night with David Rose.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm over on Tumblr at [lisamc-21](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/lisamc-21).
> 
> I finally finished the draft of the companion to my Frozen Over fic "It's Always Been You" from Patrick's POV that I've been promising. Once I edit that, it'll be posted. Within the week or so :)
> 
> I'm also super behind on replying to comments. I'm working on catching up on those. Thank you to everyone who's left comments! They mean so much to me!! <3


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